Prospective associations between social status and social anxiety in early adolescence

• Main Authors: Becker, E.S (Author), Henricks, L.A (Author), Klein, A.M (Author), Lange, W.-G (Author), Lansu, T.A.M (Author), Pouwels, J.L (Author)
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: John Wiley and Sons Ltd 2021
• Subjects: adolescent; Adolescent; anxiety; Anxiety; bullying; Bullying; child; Child; early adolescence; fear; Fear; female; Female; gender; human; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; longitudinal study; male; Male; peer group; Peer Group; Psychological Distance; social anxiety; social status
• Online Access: View Fulltext in Publisher

 This study examined the transactional longitudinal association between social status (likeability and popularity) and social anxiety symptoms (fear of negative evaluation and social avoidance and distress), and explored gender differences in this association. Participants included 274 adolescents (136 boys, Mage = 12.55). Data were collected at two waves with a 6-month interval. Likeability and popularity were measured with peer nominations and social anxiety symptoms with self-reports. Autoregressive cross-lagged path models showed relative stability of social status and social anxiety. Girls who were seen as less popular by their classmates avoided social situations more frequently and experienced more distress during such situations over time. These results highlight the importance of distinguishing between different social status components and social anxiety symptoms and to take gender into account. Early support for less popular girls seems important to prevent more severe consequences of avoidance and distress, such as social exclusion and victimization. © 2021 The Authors. British Journal of Developmental Psychology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Psychological Society